Saturday, February 9, 2008

Marginalised?

I used to live on estate when I was small. I have Indian friends who didn't go to school. They told me they don't have birth certificate. I asked how come and the answer was "kita bapak bukan sini worang, India mari juga."

It was a common knowledge among us estate dwellers that they were illegitimate children. Their legal "fathers" were drunkards.

There were three grocery cum roti canai shops, owned by Indians from India. There were at least 10 Indian workers, all from India. Every year balik negeri.

Every now and then, we heard of fights between one of the drunkards and one of the grocery shop people.

Those drunkards got their 'todi' from the shops - hutang. I did not understand then when I heard my parents talking about the fight - 'bini dia gi bayar hutang'.

I was twelve then. My friends had four or five other siblings.

There was a Malay lady who worked as the cook at the manager's bungalow. She had 3 sons. All didn't go to school. I found out one day that they didn't go to school because they didn’t have birth certificate.

In these cases, can one blame the government for not taking care of one's welfare? Where is one’s own sense of self righteousness? Illegal immigrants flooded our country and yet some citizens cried out because they couldn’t get jobs to feed their family. On the other hand, one will be so proud to see the number of worship places all over the country. If one society can get a mechanism to collect money to build temples, why didn't the same mechanism be deployed to look after the welfare of the poor members. I mean, isn't it odd to see so many temples being build and yet the followers compang camping nak makan pun susah. Would orang miskin be so keen to build houses of worship? Illegally ! Then making it an international issue when the authority tear it down and claim you are being marginalised?

If one malas belajar, then buat hal disiplin sampai kena buang sekolah, is it ethical to claim to have been marginalised? The indons pawn their lives in rickety boats to cross Selat Melaka and these people mengeluh tak dapat kerja sampai compang camping hidup miskin. Some India's Indians with master's degree came here and worked as pump attandents. How many jobless graduates we have and who is it that claimed they have been marginalised.

It is blatantly irresponsible to claim one don't get educated when parents can be charged in court for failure to send children to school. And yet later on you claim you have been marginalised! ... sheezzzz!!! I myself walked 6km to school [bukan tak de bas tapi tak de duit tambang] and got out of my destitution while my 'marginalised' friends frolicked under the sun. I have every right to be emotional on this for I had to work very hard [still do].

Looking at the number of illegal immigrants in the country now, I read about the drive to legalized “stateless” Indians in Malaysia as someone’s hidden agenda.

"... about 3,000 application forms in less than two hours. ... It is unexpected to see so many people without birth certificates and identity cards here,” said Dr Mohd Khir ... their husbands had no identity cards. "

I have heard/read about people selling one of their kidneys or eyes. I also heard a Malaysian IC or passport fetching a good price.If one brought all the misfortunes upon oneself thru lack of effort and self discipline while others made it out of the estates does one really have a cause to claim to have been marginalized?

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*****I slept and dreamt thatlife is joyI woke and sawlife is dutyI acted and beholdduty is joy

- Rabindranath Tagore

*****

I asked for Strength…And God gave me DifficultiesI asked for Wisdom…And God gave me ProblemsI asked for Prosperity…And God gave me Brain and BrawnI asked for Courage…And God gave me DangerI asked for Love…And God gave me Troubled peopleI asked for Favours…And God gave me Opportunities

I received nothing.I received everything.

- Author unknown

If – Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on you;If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But make allowance for their doubting too;If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;If you can meet with triumph and disasterAnd treat those two imposters just the same;If you can bear to hear the truth you've spokenTwisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winningsAnd risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,And lose, and start again at your beginningsAnd never breath a word about your loss;If you can force your heart and nerve and sinewTo serve your turn long after they are gone,And so hold on when there is nothing in youExcept the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds' worth of distance run -Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!